Published Titles Include

I'll Fly My Own Plane Click to order via Amazon or Barnes and Noble by Jean Alicia Elster, Nicole Tadgell (Illustrator)  Follow ten-year-old Joe Joe Rawlings as he faces contemporary challenges with guidance gleaned from a rich cast of historical characters in this series of books written around Christian themes for African American children, ages 6-10. "Joe Joe in the City" deals in a realistic but age-appropriate manner with issues and challenges facing African American children and their families in an urban environment. This third volume, I'll Fly My Own Plane, introduces Joe Joe and his young readers to the Tuskegee Airmen. Instead of taking advantage of an opportunity to make "quick money" in an unethical (and possibly illegal) way and thus to be able to afford an expensive remote control plane, Joe Joe keeps his job at the local corner store and is content to fly the plane his dad has made for him.

I'll Do the Right Thing Click to order via Amazon or Barnes and Noble Jean Alicia Elster, Nicole Tadgell (Illustrator) This fourth and final volume of Joe Joe in the City series finds Joe Joe facing gang trouble at school. He has to make a difficult decision about whether to join Tyrone and his crew, the Defenders, or to follow the example of Ralph Bunche, the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and the highest-ranking African American on staff at the United Nations. With the help of his grandmother, Joe Joe discovers the significance of Jesus' teaching "Blessed are the peacemakers"-individuals who stand apart from the crowd and help other folks work out their problems.

Just Call Me Joe Joe Click to order via Amazon or Barnes and Noble Jean Alicia Elster, Nicole Tagdell (Illustrator) Follow 10-year-old Joe Joe Rawlings as he faces challenges and encounters guidance from a rich cast of historical characters in this first of at least four titles in a series of books written for African American children ages 6-10. Just Call Me Joe Joe deals realistically but also in an age-appropriate manner with issues and challenges facing African American children and families in an urban environment. In this first installment, the serious-minded but likeable Joe Joe faces a shop owner who lashes out at him, assuming that Joe Joe was part of the gang that trashed the store just moments before Joe Joe entered. Joe Joe has to find the courage to return to the store and confront the owner with the truth that he was not part of the gang. In this lesson on self-esteem Joe Joe discovers Negro league baseball legend Cool Papa Bell as he faces a life situation that results in his own moral, spiritual, and emotional growth.

I Have a Dream, Too!, Vol. 2 Click to order via Amazon or Barnes and Noble Jean Alicia Elster, Nicole Tagdell (Illustrator) In this second installment, I Have a Dream, Too!, the serious-minded but likable Joe Joe faces his peers who ridicule him for dreaming of attending college one day. Joe Joe realizes that attaining this dream won't be easy, either personally or financially. When searching for answers, Joe Joe discovers a book about Mary McLeod Bethune, an influential African American woman who overcame poverty and the lack of a formal education at an early age to become the founder of a college and a government worker for the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. In this lesson on tough choices, Joe Joe faces a decision that results in his own moral, spiritual, and emotional growth.